[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ admin_label=”section” _builder_version=”4.27.4″ hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” sticky_enabled=”0″][et_pb_row admin_label=”row” _builder_version=”4.27.4″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.16″ custom_padding=”|||” global_colors_info=”{}” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_divider show_divider=”off” admin_label=”Divider” _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” locked=”off” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_divider][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” text_orientation=”justified” custom_padding=”|20px||20px|false|false” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n
Following calls from <\/span>POESY<\/span><\/a> and <\/span>JUADN<\/span><\/a>, the International Press Institute (IPI), along with the <\/span>undersigned Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) partners, jointly condemn<\/a> the filing of abusive legal action by the Greek airline company Air Mediterranean against the Mediterranean Institute for Investigative Reporting (MIIR), the newspaper \u201cEfimerida ton Syntakton\u201d (EfSyn), journalists Ioanna Louloudi and Nikos Morfonios, as well as EfSyn\u2019s editors and directors.<\/span><\/p>\n The International Press Institute (IPI), the European Center for Press and Media Freedom (ECPMF), the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) and Osservatorio Balcani Caucaso Transeuropa (OBCT), state that \u201cAir Mediterranean\u2019s lawsuit bears several hallmarks of a SLAPP\u201d. They also urge the Court of First Instance of Athens to treat the lawsuit by Air Mediterranean as an abusive lawsuit, and to uphold European press freedom standards when assessing the case during the upcoming hearing on 21 May 2026.<\/span><\/p>\n The undersigned MFRR partners urge Greece to implement anti-SLAPP safeguards to protect media, and express their regret that although the Greek government has indicated some level of <\/span>preparation for the transposition of<\/span><\/a> the <\/span>EU Anti-SLAPP Directive<\/span><\/a> into national law, no concrete legislative amendments were adopted before the 7 May deadline.<\/span><\/p>\n The court hearing for the SLAPP lawsuit against MIIR and EfSyn for the publication of the cross-border investigation \u201c<\/span>The Mediterranean Wings of the Underworld<\/span><\/a>\u201d (2\/8\/2025), will take place on May 21st at the Athens Single-Member Court of First Instance (9am at the Prokat building, Courtroom 3, Case No. 1). The investigation examined alleged links between the private Greek airline Air Mediterranean and individuals involved in arms, drug and migrant trafficking. It also raised serious questions about the oversight abilities of Greek, Italian and EU authorities. The investigation received a grant from Journalismfund Europe<\/a> and besides MIIR, was published in EfSyn newspaper, as well as our media partners: Siraj, Daraj, VoxEurop and L\u2019Espresso.<\/span><\/p>\n Our team would like to thank journalists unions, media organisations and colleagues in Greece and abroad for supporting MIIR and EfSyn in this legal battle.<\/span><\/p>\n You can read the announcement from IPI and the Media Freedom Rapid Response partners here:\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_divider show_divider=”off” admin_label=”Divider” _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” locked=”off” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_divider][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” custom_padding=”|30px||30px|false|false” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n Greece: Abusive lawsuit against independent newsrooms should be dismissed<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n Greece urged to implement anti-SLAPP safeguards to protect media<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n IPI is joined by the undersigned Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) partners in condemning the filing of abusive legal action by Air Mediterranean against the Greek investigative newsroom Mediterranean Institute for Investigative Reporting (MIIR), the newspaper Efimerida ton Syntakton (EfSyn) as well as their editors and directors.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n Our organisations, which have long documented legal threats against media in Europe, today urge the Court of First Instance of Athens to treat the lawsuit by Air Mediterranean as an abusive lawsuit and to uphold European press freedom standards when assessing the case during the upcoming hearing on 21 May 2026.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n MFRR partners regret that although the Greek government has indicated some level of <\/span><\/i>preparation for the transposition of<\/span><\/i><\/a> the <\/span><\/i>EU Anti-SLAPP Directive<\/span><\/i><\/a>, no concrete legislative amendments were adopted before the 7 May deadline.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n Now that the deadline has passed, we urge the Greek authorities to take decisive action to ensure the EU Directive\u2019s swift and effective implementation into national law. Reform of the civil code should also strengthen safeguards against domestic Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (SLAPPs) which aim to silence quality public-interest journalism.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n The lawsuit stems from a cross-border investigation by MIIR and its partners <\/span><\/i>entitled<\/span><\/i><\/a> \u201cThe Mediterranean Wings of the Underworld\u201d, published in August 2025. Air Mediterranean, an Athens-based international airline company, initiated legal proceedings seven months later, targeting MIIR, EfSyn and the journalists who worked on the report. <\/span><\/i>MIIR<\/span><\/i><\/a> is a non-profit organisation with a reputation for hard hitting investigative data journalism and EfSyn is one of the major independent dailies in Greece.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n The legal action followed an earlier complaint <\/span><\/i>submitted<\/span><\/i><\/a> by the airline\u2019s legal representatives in August 2025, in which it rejected the reporting as \u201cfalse and defamatory\u201d and denied any links to criminal activity. In response, MIIR and EfSyn stated that the company had been given multiple opportunities to respond prior to publication in line with the applicable journalistic ethical standards and emphasised that the investigation adhered to journalistic standards and addressed issues of clear public interest.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n The cross-border investigation was supported by <\/span><\/i>Journalismfund Europe<\/span><\/i><\/a> and published jointly by MIIR and Siraj (Syria), Daraj (Lebanon), VoxEurop (France and Belgium), and L\u2019Espresso (Italy). It examined alleged links between the private Greek airline Air Mediterranean and individuals involved in arms, drug and migrant trafficking. It also raised serious questions about the oversight abilities of Greek, Italian and EU authorities.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n Air Mediterranean targeted only the two Greek media outlets involved in the cross-border collaborations, while all four other media partners were excluded from litigation.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n MFRR observes that Air Mediterranean\u2019s lawsuit bears several hallmarks of a SLAPP: the amount of damages requested is excessive (EUR 100,000 jointly); there is an imbalance of power between the defendants and the claimant, given the company\u2019s financial resources; and the lawsuit also appears to be aimed at suppressing public interest information.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n Our organisations stand in solidarity with the teams at MIIR and EfSyn and remain committed to supporting them as the case progresses. We also express our solidarity with journalists in Greece who are repeatedly subjected to vexatious lawsuits intended to intimidate, create a chilling effect, and deter reporting on matters of clear public interest.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n For years, Greece has been considered a high-risk country in Europe for SLAPPs. While some high-profile lawsuits against journalists in recent years have been <\/span><\/i>dismissed<\/span><\/i><\/a>, others continue to be fought, as in the case of.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n Overall, this lawsuit demonstrates the urgent need for robust anti-SLAPP legislation in Greece, which covers both cross-border cases, as foreseen within the EU\u2019s Anti-SLAPP Directive, but also wider protections against domestic SLAPP cases, as outlined in the Council of Europe\u2019s 2024 <\/span><\/i>Recommendation <\/span><\/i><\/a>on SLAPPs.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n Our organisations hope to see this lawsuit against MIIR, EfSyn and the journalists thrown out. We will continue to monitor this case and respond to further developments.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n Signed:<\/i><\/strong><\/p>\n International Press Institute<\/a> (IPI)<\/i><\/strong><\/p>\n European Center for Press and Media Freedom<\/a> (ECPMF)<\/i><\/strong><\/p>\n European Federation of Journalists<\/a> (EFJ)<\/i><\/strong><\/p>\n Osservatorio Balcani Caucaso Transeuropa<\/a> (OBCT)<\/i><\/strong><\/p>\n [This statement was coordinated by the <\/span><\/i>Media Freedom Rapid Response<\/span><\/i><\/a> (MFRR), a Europe-wide mechanism which tracks, monitors and responds to violations of press and media freedom in EU Member States and Candidate Countries.]<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_divider show_divider=”off” admin_label=”Divider” _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” locked=”off” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_divider][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/miir.gr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/MFRR-Boiler-Plate-1024×209.jpg” title_text=”MFRR-Boiler-Plate” _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_divider show_divider=”off” admin_label=”Divider” _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” locked=”off” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_divider][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n You can read \u03bfur investigation here: <\/span>https:\/\/miir.gr\/en\/the-mediterranean-wings-of-the-underworld\/<\/span><\/a>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n And the follow-up story on the wanted Golden Visa investors in Greece, here: <\/span>https:\/\/miir.gr\/katazitoumenoi-chrysoi-ependytes-stin-ellada\/<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_divider show_divider=”off” admin_label=”Divider” _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” locked=”off” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_divider][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The International Press Institute along with the undersigned Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) partners jointly condemn the filing of abusive legal action by the Greek airline company Air Mediterranean against MIIR and EfSyn.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":17448,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":" The Mediterranean Institute for Investigative Journalism (MIIR) participated in the Climate Arena Conference 2025 in Budapest which each year unites journalists and scientists from across Europe to collaborate in investigating the climate crisis.<\/span><\/p> It\u2019s been a week since our colleague Konstantina Maltepioti<\/strong> presented the methodology & tools behind MIIR\u2019s \u201cTroubled Waters\u201d investigation. \u00a0\u201cTroubled Waters\u201d was organised and coordinated by Kostas Zafeiropoulos<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/span> & the MIIR - Mediterranean Institute for Investigative Reporting<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/span>, with the collaboration of the EDJNet<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/span>.<\/p><\/div><\/div> \u00a0<\/p> \u00a0<\/p> \u00a0<\/p>
During the session \u201cFrom space to spreadsheet: Analysing flood impact using Copernicus satellite data\u201d, along with Jonathan Stoneman (BBC, Arena for Journalism in Europe), Konstantina Maltepioti discussed how \u201cTroubled Waters\u201d explored and analysed the damaging impact of floods in Europe.<\/p>
Check out the scrollytelling here<\/a><\/div><\/div>\u00a0<\/h6>","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[78,1,72],"tags":[625,624,623,617,616,558,544,126,52,58],"class_list":["post-17540","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-investigations-featured","category-our-news","category-investigations","tag-press-freedom","tag-ipi","tag-mfrr","tag-slapp","tag-investigative-journalism","tag-investigations","tag-air-mediterranean-en","tag-greece","tag-miir","tag-journalism"],"yoast_head":"\n